Three-time PDC World Darts Championship winner Michael van Gerwen has made it clear who he feels is harder to beat out of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries.
Littler and Humphries are currently ranked world number one and two, respectively, while Van Gerwen is third.
Both ‘The Nuke’ and ‘Cool Hand’ will no doubt be looking to add another PDC World Championship to their trophy cabinet over the festive period, with the Alexandra Palace tournament having gotten underway earlier this week.
Littler, who has reached the last two World Championship finals, winning the 2024/25 edition, beat Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas 3-0 in the first round, while Humphries has to wait until the evening session of Saturday’s (December 13) action to get his tournament started.
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Van Gerwen will face Japan’s Mitsuhiko Tatsunami on December 18.
The Dutchman has previously won the tournament three times – in 2014, 2017, and 2019. He also lost in last year’s final to Littler.
The 36-year-old was once the world number one for a record seven years between 2014 and 2021, but has won just one major since 2023 – this year’s World Series of Darts, beating Littler in the final.
Nonetheless, he is still ambitious but will likely have to beat Littler or Humphries if he is to turn back the clock and win a fourth World Darts Championship.
So, if it came to it, who would he rather face?
When asked who is more difficult to beat out of the pair by The Guardian’s Donald McRae, the Dutchman answered: “Littler. But there’s not much in it.”
Van Gerwen also questioned how Littler would fare if he, like the Dutchman, had a family of his own instead of living at home like the teenager currently does.
“He lives with his mum, and everything is easy for him,” Van Gerwen said.
“He doesn’t have a family [of his own]. He has no responsibilities. Everything’s fine. But when you start to face real life, then things are changing. You have to deal with new things in life, then. It’s not going to be smooth for the rest of his life.”
After claiming that demands will intensify in Littler’s life, Van Gerwen added: “I want to see when he has kids. How he’s going to deal with that?”
Topics: Darts, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler, Luke Humphries
Luke Davies